Chapter Five
“Ican’t believe we’ve been doing this for a week and still can’t get these towers to work.” Frustration tugged at Poppy, turning the corners of her mouth down.
Darius had been great. Contrary to his previous bad boy reputation, he arrived promptly every morning and stayed until he had to get to work. He was starting to look a little ragged and exhausted. In a nutshell, he looked the way she felt.
“We’ll get this,” Darius encouraged. “We’ve got time. If not, we can use square towers. At least we won’t need to practice them, we’ve got the square shapes down pat.”
His words lightened her flagging mood. “We will figure this out. But not today. I’m tired of this place. I’ve been up to my neck in icing and gingerbread sixteen hours a day for weeks. I’m taking the rest of the day off.” She untied her apron and tossed it onto their workspace. “You’re taking the day off too.”
“We can’t just leave.”
His stunned expression made her laugh. “Maybe you can’t, but I can, and I will. I’m calling my mom. She’ll come in. She’s my emergency backup. She’ll handle things here. I’m getting out of this place. Stay and work if you want, but I’m going sledding.”
“Sledding?”
“Yup.” She pulled out her cell and texted her mom. Seconds later, she had confirmation that her mom would be right in. “You coming? Or are you going to stay here and be a stick in the mud.”
“I’ll have to go home and change.”
“Scoot then. I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes. I’ll just zip upstairs and grab my snow gear.” Having an apartment above the bakery was super convenient. Although, at times, it made escaping work difficult. However, the commute was fabulous.
“Do you need my address?”
“Nope. Come on, Cranberry Cove is a small town. I knew where you lived ages ago. There are no secrets here.” She laughed at the lack of privacy in her beloved home town.
“You ready for this?”she asked Darius as they sat on ridiculously small discs of curved plastic. She’d borrowed the sleds from Julianna who was tickled that her friend and boss was taking a day off. Especially since she was taking Darius with her. Juliana had the nerve to refer to their truancy as a date.This was not a date. Even if it felt like one.
They took dozens of runs, one after the other, or sailing down the hill, side by side. Next up, racing. Who could get to the bottom the fastest?
“Want to race?” she challenged him.
“Ready and raring to go,” Darius affirmed. “On your marks, get set,” he shoved himself forward, over the crest of the hill, hollering “Go!” as he zoomed forward.
“Cheater,” she laughed and propelled her sled into action. Second later, she screamed past him, roaring with laughter. The sleds weren’t made for adults, and his heavier weight bogged the toy down. Filled with joy, she laughed and laughed, until her sled flew over a small jump and launched her into the air, out of control. She landed with a thump, the impact jarring her spine all the way to the base of her skull. She flopped over in agony and skidded to a graceless stop.
“Ouch.” She rubbed her backside, trying to sooth the sting.
“Are you okay?” Darius dropped to his knees beside her, his face wrapped in concern. “That had to hurt.”
She cussed. “Whose stupid idea was this? My butt is killing me.” Mortified heat flooded her face remembering her painful landing. “I thought this would be easy.”
“It is easy,” Darius teased. “Our sleds are too small. What we really need is an old-fashioned toboggan. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I think so. I’ll recover. Only my pride is hurt. And my butt. Maybe we should do something less vigorous, like sit in a pair of recliners.”
“Not a chance. You dragged me out here. We’re doing this and we’re doing this right.” He held out a hand and when she grasped it, he pulled her to her feet. With soft touches, he brushed the snow from her hat and hair.
She fell still, unable to stop herself from thinking of that gentle touch in other, more private places. She shivered at the thought.
“Are you cold?”
Darn man was entirely too solicitous and caring. A far cry from the boy he’d been. “No. I’m good. Ready to try again.” She chuckled. “This time without the bump.”
“Good plan.”
They sledded for another hour. Eventually, she found a way to manage the unexpected landings without compressing her spine into knots.
“I want to try something different,” Darius declared. “Hang on a second. I’ll be right back.” He strode across the hill to the only other people in sight, two teenage boys, probably skipping school.
